ephemeral [ Conrad Fisher ]

25

Conrad

PLANNING the perfect date had never been my strong suit. I had a million ideas running through my head, but none of them seemed quite right. So, there I was, sitting on the edge of Jeremiah's bed, practically begging him for help.

"Come on, man, you've gotta help me plan this date," I pleaded, running a hand through my hair in frustration.

Jeremiah, lounging on his bed with his phone in hand, glanced at me with an amused grin. "You're the one with the big ideas, Conrad. Why do you need my help?"

I sighed, feeling the weight of my inexperience. "Because, Jere, this isn't just any date. It's with Lennox, and I want it to be perfect. I want her to have a great time."

Jeremiah closed his book, setting it aside, and regarded me with a thoughtful expression. "Alright, fine. What are you thinking?"

I started to list off a few ideas I'd considered, but nothing seemed quite right. Finally, I admitted, "I just don't know where to start, Jere. I want it to be special."

Jeremiah chuckled, sitting up and giving me an affectionate pat on the back. "I get it, man. Lennox is an amazing girl, and you want to sweep her off her feet."

"Yeah," I admitted with a nod. "Exactly."

Jeremiah leaned back, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Well, you know who knows Lennox pretty well?"

I frowned, not sure where he was going with this. "Who?"

He grinned, his tone teasing. "Liam."

I rolled my eyes, not amused by the suggestion. "Liam will never know Lennox the way I know Lennox."

Jeremiah laughed at my jealousy, clearly enjoying getting under my skin. "Okay, okay."

"So what've you got for me?"

"There's always the drive in."

"Jeremiah you cannot be serious."

He sighs looking up from his phone "There's only so much to do here. You could find a place to do karaoke?"

I snort, shaking my head. "Just because you like singing off beat doesn't mean everyone does."

He rolls his eyes "I do karaoke a few times at some parties and suddenly I'm the worst singer in the world." He shakes his head "Take her to a bookstore?"

"Already did that."

"It's clear you already know what you want to do man, so, what's the big plan, Romeo?"

A smile crept across my face as I began to describe my plan. "I want to take her to the boardwalk, you know, the one with the little fair they set up during the summer. I remember how much fun we used to have there when we were kids. And every time we came back home after the summer, I'd tell Lennox about it, and she'd get all starry-eyed, hanging onto every detail."

Jeremiah chuckled softly, nodding as if he already knew where I was going with this. "Yeah, I remember those days." He smiles a little. "It's crazy how we used to spend our first day home reliving our summer with her and now she's here getting to experience it with us."

I smiled a little, my mind flashing back to the moments we would spend on her trampoline catching up on everything we had missed in the short span of a few months. "So, we'll spend the evening at the fair, playing games, eating cotton candy, and going on the rides. I think she'll love it, getting to live some of the moments we used to tell her about . But that's not all."

Jeremiah leaned in, his curiosity piqued. "What else you got?"

I couldn't help but grin. "I want to end the night with stargazing. You know Lennox loves looking at the stars."

Jeremiah nodded a little, taking in my words. "She's going to love it."

I sighed in relief, feeling a weight lift off my shoulders. "I hope so, Jer. I just want to make this special for her. I don't want to fuck this up."

Jeremiah nods, his eyes meeting mine "You're my brother Conrad but I mean it when I say don't fucking hurt her again. She means a lot to you but she mans just as much to me and next time you fuck up it won't be a few pancakes and words that will fix it."

"I know Jere, I won't."